Oscar gassett and israel fisher



(Nomodel.)

0. GASSETT & I. FISHER.

Track Drilling"Maohine-y Patented June 28,1881.

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yFI E55E5 UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIcEO OSCAR GASSETT AND ISRAEL FISHER, OF BOSTON, MASS., ASSIGNORS TO THE UNION ELECTRIC SIGNAL COMPANY, OF HARTFORD, CONN.

TRACK-DRILLING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 243,544, dated June 28, 1881.

Application lled April 11, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, OSCAR GASSETT and ISRAEL FISHER, of Boston, county of Suffolk, State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Track-Drilling Machines, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification.

Our invention relates to drilling-machines, io and has for its object to produce a machine that can be readily applied to a railway-track, when in position on the road-bed, for the purpose of drilling a hole therein to receive the driving-stud of an electric track-connector, such as shown and described in Letters Patent No. 227,104, May 4, 1880, to Gassett and Fisher, to which reference may be had. In the said patent the driving-stud is shown as insertedin a hole at the edge of the flange of 2o the rail, and the object of the present invention is to enable these holes to be quickly made on the road-bed.

The invention consists, mainly, in the combination,'with an ordinary drill operating and feeding mechanism, of a suitable frame-work therefor, adapted to be quickly placed in proper position upon the rail and properly held there while the hole is drilled, without necessi- .tating any clamping or bolting operation to 3o enable the thrust or reaction of the drill bearing on the-iron to be sustained.

The entire drilling apparatus is small and portable, and the working parts are mounted upon a frame-work consisting mainly of two 3 5 bars connected by cross-pieces provided with suitable bearings for the drill-shaft and its operating gearing and feeding mechanism, the said main bars having at their end laterallyprojecting thrust-sustaining iin gers, which are 4o shown as passing beneath the flange of the rail opposite to the surface engaged by the drillpoint, the said projections thus receiving the thrust or reaction of the drill as it enters the iron. The said frame-bars are also provided 4 5 with a suitable bracket at one side to rest upon the top of and against the side of the head of the rail when the said thrust-sustaining fingers at the bottom of the rail are in position beneath its' flange. This bracket is made adjustable toward and from the said thrust-sustaining ngers, to enable the machine to be used with rails ot' different height, and it is provided with a pivoted holding-arm, which, after the bracket has been placed in position in contact with the top and one side -of the head of the rail, is turned on its pivot and remains held by its own weight in contact with the other side of the head of the rail, thus keeping the instrument in proper position, it being placed 4upon the rail and the holding- 6o arm dropped without any appreciable expenditure ot' time, and held as firmly as need be by the foot of the operator.

Figure l is a front elevation of a track-raildrilling machine constructed in accordance 6 5 with this invention; Fig. 2, a longitudinal section thereof, showing the instrument in position upon the rail 5 and Fig. 3, a sectional detail thereof on line .fr x, Fig. l.

The frame-work consists, essentially, of two 7o bars, a a', connected at their upper ends with a cross-piece, b,' provided with an internally screw-threaded socket, c, to receive the drillfeeding screw d, operated bythe hand-wheel e or its handlef, the said screw being made tubul-ar, as shown in Fig. 2, to serve as' the upper bearing for the drill-shaft g, which has an,- other bearin g in a cross-bar, h, connecting the main pieces a a', the said pieces a a b h forming a rigid rectangular frame for the drill-shaft 8o g and its-operating mechanism. The upper portion of the drill-shaftg, having its bearing in the feed-screw d, is of smaller diameter than the lower portion having its bearing on the cross-bar a, and has mounted upon it a sleeve, 8 5 below the feed-screw d, the said sleeve being pressed upon by the said feed-screw d, through the intervention of a suitable washer, j, and itself bearing upon the hub of a bevel-pinion, lf, keyed upon the upper smaller portion ofthe 9o shaft g, and resting upon the shoulder formed at the point where the diameter of the drillshaft changes.

The sleeve lis prevented from rotating Wi th the drill-shaft g by a yoke, l, resting against theframepieces a a', and the said sleeve is provided lwith a pin, m, which serves as a bearing for the drivinggear n, meshing with the pinion 7c and operated by the crank 0 and its handle p. By this arrangement the drill-shaft roo and its operating crank and gears are all fed downward together as the screw d is turned in its socket c in the cross-pieces b.

The lower ends of the frame-bars a a are bent together, as shown in Fig. 1, to bring them close to the drillchuck q, and its drill and the said frame -pieces are provided with lateral thrust-sustaining fingersr, adapted to pass beneath the flan ge of the rail R, as shown in Fig. 2, at either side of the line of action of the drill.

A holding-bracket, s, provided with a bearing-face, 2, parallel with the frame-pieces co a, and in such position as to rest against thc side of the head of the rail when the lower end of the said frame-piece rests against the side of the flange thereof, as shown in Fig. 2, is connected with the said frame pieces by bolts t, passing through slots 3 in the said brackets, so that they may be properly adjusted upon the frame-pieces a a to bring the bearing-face 4 of the arm s' perpendicular to the said framepieces upon the top of the head of the rail when the thrust-sustaining iin gers r bear upon the under face ot' the flange of the said rail, the slots 3 enabling the instrument to be used with tracks constructed of rails or" diii'erent height. The ends of the arms s are connected by a cross-rod, u, which has pivoted upon it the holding-arm U, having a holdin g-proj ection, 5, that passes under the head of the rail, as shown in Fig. 2, and is held there by the weight of the handle portion o', and the operators foot thereon, if necessary, the said holding-arm retaining the instrument securely in position while the hole is being drilled. The handle o and holdin g-arm u bein g turned up, as shown in dotted lines, and the drill being raised by its feedingscrew d, so that its point will loeV above the tlange, the holding points r are placed beneath the iiange ot' the rail R and the instrument turned toward the rail until the faces 2 4 of the brackets s rest in contact with the head of the rail, when the holdingarm lv is dropped and the operator rotates the drill by means of the handle p, feeding 'it downward in the usual manner by turning the feed-wheel c. rEhe drill-point, in bearing downward upon the rail to cut it, exerts an upward pressure, which is transmitted through the shaft g, pinion 7c, sleeve i, and washer j, to the feedscrew d and cross -piece b, whence it is transmitted through the frame-piece a a' to the thrust-sustaining iin gers o" and the under side of the iiauge ofthe rail directly opposite the point of the drill. When the hole has been drilled through the drill is removed therefrom by rotating the wheel e in the reverse direction, thus raising the feed-screw d, which, by means ofthe washer w, raises the drill-shaft and connected parts, after which the arm o is raised and the instrument at once removed from the rail..

We claimy1. In a trackdrilling machine, the framework consisting of the bars a a, provided with thrust-sustaining projections, and the drillshaft mounted between them and provided with a pinion fixed thereon, combined with the sleeve mounted upon the said shaft, and yoke connected therewith, io engage the framework and prevent the rotation of the said sleeve, and the drivinggear pivoted on the said sleeve and meshing with the said pinion, substantially as described.

2. The drill-supporting frame and its thrustsuslaining projections, combined with the bracket and its bearing-surfaces and holdingarm pivoted thereon, all arranged as described, whereby, when the said projections are placed beneath the flange ot' the rail, the said bracket engages the top and one side, and the holdingarm the other side of the head of the rail to hold the instrument in place, substantially as described.

3. The drill-operating mechanism and frame therefor, provided with thrust-sustaining projections to engage the ange ot' the rail, combined with the bracket and holding arm adjustabl y connected with the said frame, wh ereby thc instrument is enabled to be employed with rails of different size, substantially as described.

4. In a drilling apparatus, the frame-work and means to secure it to the metal to be drilled, as described, and the drill shaft and sleeve thereon, and driving-wheel mounted on the said sleeve, combined with thc tubular feeding-screw engaging a threaded socket in the said frame-work, and serving as a bearing for thc said drill-shaft, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we have signed our` 

